Well, this has caused some controversy, because... of course it has.
Some background. A couple of weeks ago, Mattel announced that there would be more content next year, but there would be, you guessed it, another shake up of the formula.
And this is the first issue. Executives want to put more focus on Thomas because kids identify with him more than the others. But the previous writing style enforced on the team by the executives hasn't allowed kids to fully connect with other characters!
BWBA had Thomas appearing everywhere. Other characters on Sodor barely got a starring role to themselves. And even if they did, more often than not, Thomas was always right behind them.
This problem was made ten times worse when things went international. The executives had so little faith (or, most likely, no interest) in the other members of the Steam Team (remember that?) that Thomas had to be in every single one, either as the star or as the character who, more often than not, caused the conflicts.
So, in essence, they're taking the idea of the global episodes and applying it across the whole series. This means that Thomas' personality could become even more muddled to the point where it becomes so dry and uninteresting that I wouldn't be surprised if the target audience started to notice. Whether they'll care or not, we won't know. Some, possibly most, parents still shove their kids in front of a TV (or a tablet now, if they can afford it) because it's easier for them than looking after their kids (in fairness, most parents barely get any help from governments so that they can have a proper break, so it's understandable in a way. And I'm not saying that using screens is a detriment to a child. There just needs to be a better balance of screen, parental responsibility and support for parents and carers).
Things went quiet for a while and it seemed like things would return to normal with older fans whining about insignificant things as per usual. And then... and then.
October 12th, 2020. Business Wire published a report offiially announcing that Thomas and Friends was returning for 104 new episodes (four series of 26) and two specials. Nothing special there, right? Well, they also announced that the franchise would be animated in 2D by Nelvana and Corus Entertainment, while publishing the above promotional image.
Cue massive meltdown from older fans. Especially the ones outing themselves as fascist sympathisers.
Now, let's be honest here: we all knew that there would be changes with the animation when the show returned. Jam Filled announced on their Instagram last year that they'd moved on from the franchise. And although the animation wasn't as good as when Arc was in charge (before they went bankrupt), it still looked unique from any other show.
The reboot, however... doesn't. It feels really cheap, and it looks bland and uninteresting. And that is something that has never been felt before with the franchise. Even the Railway Series had some top quality artwork for its illustrations. Series 13-16, in hindsight, rested on its laurels a bit by doing nothing to make things look better or more striking (Arc and Jam Filled constantly tweaked the lighting, camera angles and even the models). But that could never be described as unappealing visually.
Let's be fair here. This is just one promo image. That's not a good indicator of how good or bad the end product will be. That can only be judged when a trailer comes out and we see it in motion. Likewise, we can't be sure of the story quality until next year. But with everything that's been revealed so far, it's going to be interesting to see what the reaction from the target audience will be.
The biggest problem for me is that the show is in danger of losing its identity. Changing a show's formula every four or five years (seriously, since 2004, things have been altered every four years. Either due to a change in management, financial issues or, since 2017, just because) makes a show seem desperate and cloying. Shows like Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol probably haven't changed much since they were born, but they're still relevant and popular today. Hell, Fireman Sam hasn't changed much (other than the switch to CG and the use of updated tech) and that feels like it has more of an identity than Thomas at this point.
The sad thing is that, while it had a really slow start (and I was switched off by it during the first series), Big World, Big Adventures was really coming into its own. Thomas & the Forest Engines is one of my favourite episodes of that era of the show, maybe of the franchise in general (I've been meaning to talk about that since I saw it), and the episode quality in general was becoming more consistent. It could've been something really great had it been given time. But alas, executives have no time for slow burns when they demand instant returns.
How this next reboot will go over with younger fans, time will tell. I hope it's a success; it would be a shame if this generation of kids was the one that dropped off of Thomas & Friends. But if it is, there's no one to blame but the pricks at the top who constantly cut the tracks away from the franchise the minute it finds some stability.
"But what about the older fans?" Frankly, I don't care. The franchise has never been catered towards anyone beyond the age of 8. Older fans only watch it now either out of habit or because they want something to hate in their lives, which is a sad existence to lead.
Let's be blunt here, most older fans don't care about children (although some could care about them in an intimate way, but that's another issue entirely). They only care about themselves and going back to where things were. Every single complaint I see is one rooted in nostalgia. "I want the models back!" "Bring back BoCo and Bertram!". Hell, even if they got exactly what they wanted, they'd still find a way to bitch about it. That's all that older fans care about; whinging about a franchise they supposedly care about because they'd have nothing else to do otherwise.
I'm willing to watch it and give it a chance. If it doesn't click, I won't watch it again. If the target audience likes it, that's all that matters. Older, entitled brats have no right to dictate what kids should and shouldn't like.
